Independent study of local wildlife activity and the microbiota of the San Pedro riparian area. Hello we are Cochise College's Undergraduate research team.
We are asking our community to help with data collection by sharing pictures and videos of your local wildlife encounters. Our research includes the impact that urbanization has on the movement of wildlife throughout the San Pedro River Valley. We ask that your picture and video post include time, date and location of the sighting. We also encourage you to include any other important information regarding environment, terrain, or circumstances under which the picture was taken.
02/17/2026
In November, 13 students and 2 faculty from the club were hosted by University of Arizona Department of Environmental Science at their campus in Tucson and to a special behind the scenes tour to the Biosphere 2.
We learned about environmental pollution and monitoring and got to learn about the research taking place at Biosphere 2 and explore the rainforest, marine, desert, and savanna biomes.
02/03/2026
In November, we joined with Watershed Management Group for our annual beaver monitoring along the Upper San Pedro River. We found many areas of beaver activity and contributed to the understanding of the extent and distribution of the beaver in the San Pedro Watershed.
01/14/2026
Last semester, Cochise College students and faculty started a collaboration with Kartchner Caverns State Park to survey the microbiota living inside of the caves.
Samples were brought back to our lab where students are involved in culturing, identifying, and eventually sequencing the DNA of these microbiota.
01/12/2026
Our very own Geologist, Evan Cedor, will be presenting at the event Pie & Sky this Thursday, Jan 15th from 6-8pm at 519 West Melody Lane. The topic is about the geology of Bisbee. Come out for free pizza and learn!
10/24/2025
We’re ready for Haunted Union! Come see us to do some pumpkin tossing. 5:30-9!
10/17/2025
Recently, our club hosted a Cochise College Environmental Conservation and Field Day. We waited out the rain and then led on a short walk by Connie Wolcott from the Friends of the San Pedro River near the San Pedro House to see and observe wildlife and plants.
We heard talks on the history of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, invasive species, bird migration, and mammals.
The 2nd part of our day was back on campus where Cochise College students and instructors gave presentations on invasive species and our native beavers. Lastly, we heard from local mammalogist, Dr. Aletris Neils, on her work on the jaguars of Southern Arizona.
Special thanks to Connor Fenn for organizing this event and to all our presenters and our nature walk guide: Connie Wolcott, Renell Stewart, Steve Merkley, Frank Emanuele, and Dominic Wells.
10/17/2025
Kayla McLeod made these wonderful mugs for the advisors. ♥️ ☕️
09/23/2025
Lots of happenings in the lab last week! Working on building consensus genetic sequences for eelgrass from the Gulf of California, estimating relatedness of 2 of our local reintroduced beaver (Mango and McRib), and participating in a student-led lab cleanup.
09/02/2025
The club was back out at the river on Friday afternoon changing batteries and memory cards on our trail cameras. Beautiful monsoon day complete with giant crab spiders, machetes, and wading through water to get to one of our cameras. Hoping for more rain soon!